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Carlos Moreno/KCUR 89.3The Jackson County Legislature will appoint an interim county executive to serve until November 2026. Former County Executive Frank White Jr. was recalled by voters on Sept. 30, and former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes is serving for up to 30 days as temporary county executive. -
Anna Spoerre/Missouri IndependentCole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled that Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' proposed ballot language was "fair and sufficient," even though it does not explicitly state that the constitutional amendment would again ban most abortions in Missouri.
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The departing GOP official made a major splash in his short time as Missouri attorney general. -
The proposed map would split Kansas City, diluting votes from the 5th Congressional District and spreading them around the 4th and 6th districts. During the special session, legislators also will consider changes to Missouri's initiative petition process. -
Two county clerks report being contacted by the DOJ seeking access to election machines made by Dominion Voting Systems, the company at the center of false allegations of vote rigging during the 2020 presidential election. -
The working group established by Gov. Mike Kehoe to look at the regulations governing parole has met twice since a public hearing in June. Neither the public nor the media was notified of either meeting. -
Republican lawmakers say a 7-1 congressional map reflects Missouri's politics, but advocacy groups and state leaders believe efforts to redraw district lines are an affront to voters. -
Cleaver, an 11-term Democratic congressman, said he would not talk about running for a 12th term before "going to federal court," in response to Republican efforts to redraw the lines of the 5th District in favor Republicans. -
Lucas Cierpiot, a disability-rights activist, said he felt intimidated by the governor’s actions and too unsafe to attend any “No Kings” protests on June 14. -
Joining anti-Trump rallies across the country on Labor Day, workers, civil rights advocates and ordinary citizens gathered at Mill Creek Park Fountain on the Plaza. The Kansas City protests took aim at the president’s effort to maintain Republican control of Congress by altering blue districts to favor his party. -
A protest, led by organized labor in Missouri, is set for Monday at noon on the Plaza. They say the redistricting effort — which would carve up Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's Kansas City district — violates the Missouri Constitution. -
President Trump has been pressuring Gov. Mike Kehoe to call a special session for mid-decade redistricting. Republican lawmakers hope to gerrymander congressional lines around Kansas City, diluting Democratic voting power and making it harder for Rep. Emanuel Cleaver to win in the 2026 midterms. -
One ballot campaign hopes to amend the Missouri constitution to declare education a “fundamental right.” The other would prohibit most public funding of nonpublic schools, including charters. Both accuse the state's top election official, Denny Hoskins, of trying to mislead voters. -
The new requirements won't affect Missouri drivers until a new system from the Department of Revenue is put in place.
Government
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TOPEKA, Kansas — Gov. Laura Kelly appointed lawyer Keynen “KJ” Wall to the Kansas Supreme Court on Wednesday.Wall will fill the seat of former Justice… -
TOPEKA, Kansas — The state lost 13% of its public defenders over the past year.That’s actually an improvement. Nearly a fourth of the state’s public… -
A federal judge in Washington state issued a temporary injunction on Friday blocking Trump administration rule changes that could allow people to share… -
Kansas health officials say the state is ready to deal with the new coronavirus now that Kansans are starting to get sick.Lawmakers still aren’t ready to… -
TOPEKA, Kansas — A pressure campaign led by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly aims to force Republican Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle to drop her blockade… -
TOPEKA, Kansas — Kansas has one of the highest rates of suspended drivers in the country, and the majority of those more than 215,000 licenses are… -
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is rethinking some of his proposed budget cuts.The budget Lucas announced earlier this month included major cuts to arts,… -
Kansas lawmakers sped through dozens of bills this past week to keep them alive past a “turn around” deadline marking the midpoint of the session.Measures… -
TOPEKA, Kansas — From 2000 to 2019, the women’s prison population in Kansas rose by 60%. Over the same time period, the men’s population rose by only… -
Conservative Republicans at the Kansas Statehouse are attempting to block passage of Medicaid expansion until lawmakers send a constitutional amendment on…
Elections
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It was a strong night for Republicans, and not just because Donald Trump recaptured the White House. Political experts from Kansas and Missouri discuss what the election results tell us on the local and national level. -
Missouri residents voted to legalize abortion, overturning one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the nation. They also voted to raise the minimum wage and send Josh Hawley back to the U.S. Senate. In Kansas, voters reelected Sharice Davids to the U.S. House. Plus, Kansas City and Johnson County voters made big decisions about their top law enforcement officials. -
Flash floods led to the deaths of two poll workers in Wright County. -
Around 79,000 eligible Kansas voters are naturalized citizens. Their vote could help decide close races. -
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Missouri and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Kansas (although Johnson County opens an hour earlier!). With the U.S. presidential race at the top of the ticket, and a critical abortion rights amendment plus statewide and congressional races below, it's a stacked election. We break down the races on both sides of the state line.
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Missouri polling places are open from 6 a.m.-7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5. See live primary election results for U.S. president, Senate, governor, and statewide ballot issues like abortion rights and sports betting. -
Students at Guadalupe Centers High School have spent weeks learning about specific races, ballot measures and candidates — even though many of them can't vote yet. -
Kansas polling places are open from at least 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5. See live election results as they come in for the U.S. presidential election, U.S. House and more. -
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have used vastly divergent communication strategies this election cycle. A rhetoric professor explains to KCUR's Up To Date what he is seeing from both campaigns. -
Do you have a valid voter ID for Missouri or Kansas? Or know what you cannot wear inside a polling location? Anne Calvert, president of the local League of Women Voters, shares what you need to know as we near the last days to vote.
